Love Knows No Bounds
by OnceUponACaskett
Summary: Clarke knew what that sound was and she needed to find the source of it. She roamed around until she could pin-point its location. The hut it was coming from had collapsed, debris everywhere "Clarke!" Lexa shouted, wondering why the blonde had begun to dig through a broken home. She watched as Clarke picked something up and turned around, a crying baby in her arms.


**A/N: I really have no clue where the idea for this story came from, but I hope you enjoy it.**

By the time they reached the village, devastation had already taken hold. Word had reached the Commander while she was visiting Tondc about a raiding party of rogue Ice Nation criminals who were destroying a small nearby village. Immediately, she'd sprung into action, calling for as many warriors as could be spared to ready their horses. They'd raced as quickly as possible to give aid, but it was useless. The raiding party was gone and the village was ravaged.

Lexa was no stranger to death. She'd been training and learning how to fight since the age of two. However, she had to hold back the urge to release the contents of her stomach at the sight before her. Several huts were on fire, the smoke billowing where windows and doors should be. The criminals had left not a single person alive, their bodies littering the ground. No one had been spared: men, women, children, elders. It was truly horrifying.

"Oh my god," Clarke whispered, her eyes just barely holding back tears. The blonde had insisted on coming with Lexa, her reasoning being that she could fight if she had to, but her skills as a healer might be needed as well. The Commander had always found it difficult to say no to her wife, but no matter the potential danger for this particular situation, Clarke had actually made a lot of sense.

Lexa swallowed down a very large lump in her throat. Turning to her warriors, all of whom had grim expressions, she pointed to several of them and said, "Find the raiders who did this. Find where their trail starts and follow them. Bring them back to me alive, if you can. They must pay fully for their crimes."

"Sha, Heda," the men responded before setting off after their quarry.

"The rest of you spread out," she continued. "Search the village for any survivors. There is a river not too far from here. Bring back water to help put these fires out, but be wary of your surroundings and keep your eyes open."

"How could anyone do something like this?" Clarke wondered.

"You know the ruthlessness of the Ice Nation all too well, Clarke," Lexa said. "Ice Nation _rogues_ are a different kind of brutality altogether. They serve no one but themselves, usually having been banished from their homes. They _answer_ to no one. But I assure you, Clarke, those responsible for this will pay with their lives."

"Good."

"Come," Lexa urged, walking towards a hut. "We must aid the search."

Clarke was about to follow right behind her when she stopped, her back stiffening as she tried to listen closely. "Lexa, wait!"

The Commander halted in her tracks and spun around at the urgent sound in the other girl's voice. "What is it?"

"Did you hear that?"

Lexa concentrated on sharpening her hearing. After a moment, she said, "I hear nothing."

Clarke frowned. Maybe she had been hearing things. She shook her head, about to disregard her comment when she heard the noise once more. "Wait! I hear it again."

"Clarke, there is nothing—"

But she ignored her. Clarke knew what that sound was and she needed to find the source of it instantly. She roamed around until she could finally pin-point its location. The hut it was coming from had collapsed and it was buried underneath debris.

"Clarke!" Lexa shouted, wondering why the blonde had begun to furiously dig through a broken home. It all became clear when she watched her bend down to pick something up before turning around, a crying baby in her arms. Lexa was immediately by her side, staring down at the child.

"It's okay, little guy," Clarke soothed, gently rocking the baby. "Shhh, you're safe now." The baby boy eventually quieted his screams as he fell asleep in Clarke's warm embrace, a tiny hand fisting the front of her shirt.

"It's a miracle he's alive," Clarke stated. "That hut falling in on itself should've killed him, but he doesn't even have a scratch on him."

"He must be a strong child," Lexa mused, her eyes scanning over him in inspection. Looking around them, she noted the man and woman lying just off to the side in separate pools of blood, both having been run through with a sword. "I would wager that those two were his parents."

"They died trying to protect him," Clarke murmured.

"And they succeeded. He is now safe thanks to you."

"What's gonna happen to him now?" she asked. "His family's dead so where does he go?"

"He will most likely be taken to Polis and live in the orphanage there," Lexa told her.

Clarke said nothing, choosing to be silent rather than say something she might regret later. She went over to where her horse obediently stood waiting and rifled through one of her large saddlebags. Pulling a blanket out, she went to work on wrapping the baby in it.

While Clarke took care of the child, a warrior approached the Commander. "We have found no survivors, Heda. None have been left alive."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Heda."

She nodded sharply. "Remain here and begin taking care of the bodies. I will take a few guards back with me to Tondc and have a detail sent back to help you."

The man bowed. "Sha, Heda."

Lexa walked over to Clarke. "We are heading back to Tondc. There is nothing more we can do for this village and its people other than to prepare their souls for the next life. Hand me the goufa so that you may safely mount your horse."

Clarke passed the bundle to Lexa, somewhat surprised when she handled the sleeping baby with ease. She placed a foot in a stirrup before swinging herself up and onto the saddle.

Noticing Clarke's surprised look as she held the child, Lexa smirked. "I _have_ dealt with children of all ages before, Clarke. I know how to hold a baby properly."

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Just give me him so we can go."

Lexa passed him back up carefully and pulled herself on her own horse, giving the order to her guards and Clarke to move their horses forward.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It was later that night when Lexa stood just inside the entrance to her and Clarke's tent, watching in adoration as Clarke gave the baby boy a bath. The shallowest of basins had been brought in and filled with only a few inches of warm water. Clarke was only in her chest bindings and a pair of loose shorts as she sat with her legs crossed by the small tub. One of her hands rested on the child's back as she reclined him, keeping his head above the water while the other hand held a washrag that she gently ran over his body.

The corner of Lexa's mouth turned up in a smile as she listened to her houmon whisper nonsense to the little boy while he giggled and babbled in return. His fists flailed and splashed in the water, causing Clarke to get doused in a tiny wave.

Her voice increased in pitch and she grinned as she said, "Did you just splash me, little man?" He squealed in answer. "You're being silly, aren't you?"

"It seems you are developing a great fondness for that child," Lexa made her presence known with an amused grin.

Clarke looked over her shoulder at her. "Well, he's kind of too adorable to not." She picked up the towel that was off to the side just out of reach of the splash zone and draped it across her lap. Picking up the baby, she laid him in her lap, his feet lightly pressed up against her stomach as his head was supported by her lower legs. She put a diaper on him and wrapped him in the soft towel before cradling his against her chest, his ear resting over where her heart was. The steady thumping beat made him yawn and close his eyes.

"You are good with him," Lexa observed, her heart melting at the sight.

Clarke shrugged. "Maternal instinct, I guess. I've never really been around a lot of babies before, I just know what to do with them." She bit her lip, then, contemplating whether or not to broach the subject she'd been thinking about all day. "Does he really have to go to the orphanage in Polis?"

Lexa tilted her head and sighed. "I'm afraid so, ai hodnes. He has nowhere else to go."

"He could," she started. "Maybe he could possibly…."

"What, ai hodnes? Maybe he could what?"

Clarke took a deep breath. "Maybe he could stay with us?"

Lexa was silent for a long time, a pensive look on her face. "You know what that would mean, Clarke? He would be ours. Our child."

"I know that, Lexa," she replied. "I've wanted to have children with you someday. I know this is kind of sudden, but it just feels right. It feels like we were meant to find him at that village and that he was meant to be ours."

Lexa's gaze remained firmly fixed on the baby sleeping away on the blonde's chest. She and Clarke had only been united for a few months now and they hadn't really had the opportunity to discuss the prospect of having children or if either of them even wanted that. Lexa knew that she did and now she also knew that Clarke had been thinking of it as well.

Lexa took a deep breath. "You are absolutely certain that this is what you want?"

"Yes, love. I want him to be our child."

"Then it shall be so," Lexa smiled. "He shall be our child to watch over and protect as he grows to be the finest warrior—"

"Or healer," Clarke interrupted.

"—or healer both Trikru and Skaikru have ever seen." She held out a hand to her houmon and helped her to her feet. They strode over to the crib a woman of Tondc had kindly offered for them to borrow earlier and Clarke set the baby down on the soft furs inside it. "Tomorrow I will begin making him his own crib. It is tradition to carve one when one is expecting a child. He may already be here, but that does not mean I can't still uphold that tradition."

Clarke leaned back against her houmon as Lexa wound her arms around her stomach and rested her head on her shoulder. "What should his name be?"

"I haven't really given it much thought, obviously," Lexa commented, "but is there a particular name that you are thinking of?"

"Jake," she responded almost instantly.

Lexa kissed her cheek in comfort, already knowing the reason for that suggestion. "After your father?"

"Yeah." Clarke blinked back tears that were suddenly threatening to escape. "He would've loved it down here. Well, maybe not the war and fighting parts, but he would've tried his best to help us all find peaceful solutions. He was always trying to see the best in people, but still so ready to protect us all if need be."

"That must be where you get it from," her houmon stated affectionately. "Jake is a fitting name. Our child will be as strong and brave as his namesake. Now come," Lexa moved back and tugged on Clarke's hand, leading her to their bed. "We must get as much sleep as we can before Jake wakes up."

"You're right," Clarke said, yawning. "It's gonna be a long night. He's too young to be sleeping through the night yet." They crawled under the furs and curled up together, Lexa's front pressing into Clarke's back. "Lexa?" the blonde called sleepily.

"Yes, Clarke?"

"Do me a favor?"

"What is it, Clarke?"

"Just try to remember how much you love me when Jake wakes up screaming in a couple hours."

Lexa chuckled and scooted closer, planting a kiss just under her ear. "I make no promises, ai hodnes."

 **Trigedasleng Translations:**

 **Houmon:** spouse/wife

 **Goufa:** child

 **Ai hodnes:** my love


End file.
